I am bored of the phrase “lies, damn lies, and statistics.” I am also angry with the book “How to Lie with Statistics.”

Both the quote and the book are from a distant past but have had huge repercussions on society. You don’t understand my numbers? You don’t want to engage in debate? Then apparently you can just dismiss me with ”lies, damn lies, and statistics.” In the recent EU Referendum debate, the Leave campaigner Michael Gove made dismissing experts and statistics his main strategy.

Data contains multiple truths: This is the problem and the brilliance of data. What people dismiss as “lies” are often valid interpretations; they might not be ones you agree with, but that doesn’t make them a lie.

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